Minato's Birthday
by Neph Champion
Summary: Its Minato's Birthday and his team have something special planned. Maybe someone eerily familiar will make a special appearance?


Idea: An Exert from Namikaze Minato: The Other Moon Princess

Summary: Its Minato's Birthday and his team have something special planned. Maybe someone eerily familiar will make a special appearance?

Disclaimer: You think _I_ own it? Yeah… no.

(Minato's Birthday)

"Happy Birthday!" the small gathering of people shouted in the private dining hall usually used for small private gatherings like this one. The princess's birthdays were both special occasions so the Queen set up two parties for her two daughters. A small one, where just friends were invited and a huge ball for the entire kingdom later the same day.

"Thank you so much…" Kaiko whispered, her eyes sparkling in happiness as her eyes roamed over the presents and the huge cake that the cooks had prepared. "You guys are the best!"

"It was nothing Onee-sama." Her younger sister Serenity replied. "We love you; there is no way that we _wouldn't_ be here to celebrate your birthday with you."

Each of the Senshi nodded in agreement, even the outer Senshi had made time to be there. "We all made time in our busy schedules to be here Hime," Neptune agreed, "You are our best friend we would still be in the outer system if it weren't for you."

Kaiko blushed lightly, her eyes searching for her husband, he was near the back, but his dark silver hair and crimson eyes made him stand out like a sore thumb. "Thank you Neptune…"

They parted so that Kyuubi, the Demon Prince could get to his mate. "Happy birthday my darling," he breathed into her ear, causing her blush to darken. "I hope you have a wonderful day."

"I'm certain I will now…" Kaiko replied with a wide smile. "Now… what did you get me?"

"Ah-ah that would be telling…" Kyuubi smirked. His precious mates scent had been off for about a month now, and he'd been gone for one month before that. Before leaving on his trip he had marked her, and mated with her. Now that he was back, he was pretty sure why her scent was different. She usually smelled of Moonlight-Lavenders and moonlight, now he could smell a hint of milk in the combination. She was with child, _his_ child. "I will give it to you later, when we are alone."

"Aw… you're no fun Kyuubi-sama…" Kaiko pouted.

"Silly Hime," Venus giggled as she held her three-year-old daughter Inoko [1] on her hip. "You have to open our presents before you get to get Kyuubi-sama's! This one is from me." She said, dropping a long, nicely wrapped box onto the princess's lap lightly.

Kaiko blinked, before tearing into the wrapping and opening the box. Inside, was an ornate set of hair ties and a hair comb that looked like a miniature replica of her tiara, "Thank you _so_ much V-chan!"

"the hair comb was Inoko-chan's idea." Venus replied, "She couldn't find one that she liked so we had one custom made for you."

"…You didn't have to go to all that trouble…" Kaiko replied softly.

"We know, but we did it anyway, because we love you so much." Venus waved her off. Inoko didn't look at all like her father, not that anyone but Venus knew, Inoko had blond hair a few shade lighter than her mother's and her mother's bright ocean blue eyes. Her mother usually dressed her in purple. "Besides, if it weren't for you, I might not _have_ Inoko… and I love my daughter more than anything…" Venus whispered.

"Open mine next, Hime!" Mercury said eagerly, handing Kaiko a tall box. "It's a bit delicate, so be careful ok?"

"Ok…" Kaiko pulled the paper off and carefully pulled the top off, surprised when most of the box was the top. She gasped, her eyes widening when an Ever Ice figurine of her and Kyuubi dancing was revealed. "Oh thank you… Mercury… It's wonderful…"

"I made it myself." Mercury explained, blushing, "It took at least a month to get right… You really like it?" she asked hopefully.

"Like it? Mercury, I love it, it's perfect." Kaiko reverently places the figurine onto the table next to her chair where she had put her new hair ornaments and hugged the blue-clad Senshi tightly.

"Here's mine," said Mars (the red clad Senshi who had dark purple eyes and long black hair). "I hope you like it, its hand made too…"

"Then I'm sure I'll love it." Kaiko reassured her as she opened the present.

Hours later, after the private party and the ball, Kyuubi pulled his mate into bed after they had bathed and gotten ready for bed. Kaiko was wearing the new pajamas that Uranus had had made for her with moons and foxes embroidered on the fabric. "Do you want my present now, Kaiko-hime?"

"It's the only thing I've been able to think of, of course I want it!" Kaiko was quite impatient, she wanted whatever her husband had gotten her. "You've been so secretive, why is that?" She asked irritably.

Kyuubi placed his clawed hands gently on his mate's stomach. "This is my gift to you My Hime," he pulled her pajama shirt up enough so that he could kiss her belly. "I give you our son."

KM KM KM

Minato sighed as he went over what he was going to do that day; it was January twenty-seventh, his birthday. He planned on taking the day off and just… spend it with his kids, but part of him, the part of him that was _Kaiko_ was missing someone terribly. He went over the memories _she_ had of _him_, the whole situation was just so awkward! He was sure that any other man being called 'Mother' would rant and not accept, but he had. He could remember looked at Kyuubi (whoever _Kyuubi_ was) the way he now looked at Kushina! He was just so confused…

The dream he'd had last night hadn't helped either, hopefully though, the dreams would end soon…

Rin and Obito were new to the team (Rin having been with them for seven months now and Obito for one), they hadn't been working with himself (herself?) and Kakashi for long, and he was planning on just having a fun day and bond with them. All his friends would probably give him gifts as the day progressed, but for now… he had a special breakfast planned.

Minato dressed and went down to the kitchen to make pancakes, opening the window as he did. Most of his friends lived nearby so, they wouldn't want to miss this. And he was right, because as soon as he put the first batch on, the doorbell rang. Minato chuckled as his nine-year-old Chuunin Kakashi (a small boy with dark, dark _blue_ eyes and silvery hair) stumbled down the stairs half-asleep.

"Good morning Kaa-san, [1] shall I get the door?" he asked around a yawn.

"Yes please 'Kashi, and remember what I told you about calling me that?" he asked the child as he waved him off to answer the door.

"Not to when there are people around, I know, Tou-san…I just thought… since Rin-chan and Obito were still asleep…"

"Never mind 'Kashi just get the door will you?" Minato asked him gently, shooing the boy away as he mixed more batter.

"Yes Tou-san, right away." Kakashi agreed, heading for the door, when it was open he stepped aside. "Please come in."

"Good morning Kakashi." Kushina replied, "How are you this morning?" of all his Sensei's friends, Kushina was one of the shortest; the only one shorter was Ren, Inoichi's girlfriend.

"Fine Kushina-san, how are you?" Kakashi answered.

"Fine," she grinned. Kushina had beautiful purple-grey eyes, a rounded face and amazing crimson hair that went down to her ankles. She had been trying to get Kakashi's sensei Minato to notice her since he had rescued her from some Kumo ninja when they were still Genin. She felt that she was close to cracking him. She swept passed Kakashi, handing him a lumpy gift. "You know how the cloak he got mysteriously disappeared?" she asked him.

Kakashi nodded, not really knowing where she was going with this, "Yeah so, we both haven't been sleeping very well since it disappeared. What did you do?"

"Well…" Kushina smirked, "Since Minato hates the Hokage's robes so much, I took the cloak and got it modified, I think he's like what I did, sorry."

Kakashi blinked before pulling the cloak to his small chest. "…Ok…" he closed the door and sat down in the living room to wait for the bell to ring again, putting the package on the low table. "I wonder who else will come for breakfast…" he wondered.

Not even five minutes later the bell rang again. Kakashi quickly stood up, laughing when he saw Obito almost fall down the stairs in his still-half-asleep state, [3] and opened the door. He grinned happily when he saw that it was the Hyuuga twins and their girlfriends: Kasai and Kemuri. [4] The girls were in for a real treat, they had never had his Kaa-san's pancakes before! "Good morning Hyuuga-san, Tou-san's making pancakes the morning!" Kakashi grinned.

"Good morning Baby Fang." Hiashi replied as he and his brother pushed their girlfriends into the house, they hadn't had Minato's famous pancakes in a long time and couldn't wait to have them.

Hizashi handed Kakashi a scroll as he passed the boy, "Minato's presents are in there." He explained when Kakashi gave him a questioning look.

"…Oh…" Kakashi replied as he went back to his seat and placed the scroll next to the lumpy package that was the cloak that Kushina-san had had altered. Obito came out of the kitchen with a red face and plopped down next to Kakashi. "What happened?" Kakashi asked his best friend/brother as he chuckled.

"Don't go in the kitchen, Kushina-san is kissing Tou-san… _again_…" Obito muttered softly. Every time Kushina visited, she would flirt with Minato. Kakashi found it amusing and Rin was starting to find it amusing, but Obito still found it annoying, he hadn't been part of the team long enough to. "Why does she always flirt with Tou-san?" Obito asked as he watched Kakashi open the scroll and pull out the presents.

"Because she can; and because she likes him." Rin answered from the stairs. "So 'Kashi have the guests started arriving for the party that Tou-san doesn't know about yet?" She asked quietly.

"Yep," Kakashi replied, pointing to the small pile of presents on the table, four of which had been in a sealing scroll for easy transport. "Won't Kaa-san be surprised…?" Kakashi usually didn't call Minato Kaa-san unless he looked like a girl, but he was comfortable enough with his teammates that when Minato wasn't around, he sometimes slipped. They hadn't asked him why. But he knew that they would be asking soon. He didn't mind. And he didn't really care. He already had an explanation all picked out too.

There was another knock and when Kakashi opened it this time it was Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto. "Good morning Uchiha-san! Come in."

"Good morning Fugaku-nii, Miki-nee!" Obito called from his place on the couch.

"Good morning," Mikoto called to Obito as Fugaku greeted Kakashi. She handed one rather large box to Kakashi, "We found this in an antique shop and somehow it reminded me of Minato, I think it's a crystal of some kind…"

Kakashi took it and put it on the table carefully, "I'll be careful them."

Inoichi and his girlfriend Ren (a civilian girl) were the last to arrive. The box they gave Kakashi was small-ish, ("We know that Minato likes to go all out when infiltrating so we got him something that might help.")

Breakfast lasted a long time, with stories and laughter abound. After breakfast they hauled the young Hokage into the living room to give him his presents. They sat him down on the couch, with all his guests sitting around him, on other couches, chairs and even the floor.

"Here, open our present first," Mikoto said as Kakashi picked up the tall gift and handed it to Minato. "We think it's some kind of crystal but weren't sure, the appraiser was stumped when we asked so…"

Minato opened the box, his eyes widening when he saw the very figurine that Kaiko was given in his dream by Mercury. "I know what this is…" He breathed, gazing for the first time at the man that he so wanted to meet

"What is it?" Mikoto asked curiously.

"I don't know how it got here…" Minato breathed as he reverently placed the figurine down on the table. "But this is Mercury Ever Ice…"

"…Mercury Ever Ice?" Fugaku asked, "What's that?"

"It's a crystal that's structure closely resembles that of ice, making it very delicate and hard to work with, it's only found in certain caves on the Planet Mercury so… How did this get here…?"

The guests were speechless, crystals that from could only be found on Mercury? Inoichi shook his head. "Here open ours next," he said, pushing the box as Kakashi came unfrozen and picked it up, handing it to Minato. "I know how you like to go all out on infiltration mission so I had Ren help me pick these out for you."

Minato gave his older girlfriend a suspicious look before opening the box, in it was another gift that he recognized, and it was something of Kaiko's, what V-chan had given her. He wasn't sure how to react. "…Thank you Inoichi." He closed the box and put it down, next time he went out as a girl that was what he was going to put in his hair. Minato doubted very much that these would ever go on a mission with him, they were too nice. "It means a lot; you must have spent hours looking."

"It was nothing Minato." Inoichi waved his reply off.

In his head, Minato was hearing Venus in his head again, 'It was nothing… we do it because we love you…' He shook his head, "Yeah, whatever…"

"Here, open mine next!" Kushina broke in. "I found it in an antique shop and got it cheap because no one could read it, but I got the impression that it was a cook book of some kind… knowing how much you like to cook I figured that it would be a good present. I also had your cloak altered, knowing how much you hate those Hokage robes…" She blushed lightly as Minato picked it up and tore the paper off.

Just before lunch, Minato ushered all his guests out the door. He had plans, "Kids, go get ready for a day out!" He called as he gathered his presents and walked up the stairs to put them away.

"Tou-san?" Kakashi asked.

"Not today Kakashi," Minato called back, "We are going to a festival outside the village walls."

"Ok Kaa-san!" Kakashi called back as he climbed up the stairs after the man to get ready himself, Rin and Obito scrambled up after them.

In his room, Minato slowly, carefully placed the figurine on his bedside table and then went to his secret closet. He came out with a deep silver woman's kimono which he then placed on his bed. "Now to change…"

Minato undressed, having learned the first time that if he used this technique with his clothes on that he wouldn't be able to breathe. This version of the Henge was a real change. He channeled his chakra carefully, "Henge." He called quietly and his form slowly started to change. Minato watched with board eyes (he'd lost count of how many times he'd done this now, watching his body go from male to female had ceased being a novelty long ago…) as his hips widened and his breasts grew out (he had to admit that he had a nice figure, even if he wasn't really a girl). His body was now the perfect hourglass shape, or rather, _her_ body. The most interesting part of the change was what his new gender did to the length of his hair. In the span of several seconds, it went from spiky (and maybe touching his shoulders if he ever got the urge to brush them out) to long, smooth and silky, right down to his ankles.

When her hair finished growing, Minato quickly grabbed her brush from her desk/vanity and brushed it out to make sure it didn't tangle, which took nearly half an hour. Then she pulled it into a bun, using the old hair comb that Inoichi… no, _Inoko_ had had made for her. Then Minato quickly braided the rest. Satisfied with her hair, Minato pulled on the silver kimono and pulled some matching silver sandals out of the closet as well. Satisfied, she left the room.

"Wow Kaa-san…" Kakashi breathed as he watched Minato descend the stairs, "Who are you trying to impress?"

"Oh no one Kakashi…" Minato answered with a wistful smile. "Are you three ready to go then?" she asked, sitting down in front of the front door to put the sandals on. She was elegant, a princess out for the day with her kids…

Rin and Obito were gaping; they had _never_ seen Minato dress like that…

"Umm…Tou-san?" Rin asked in a stunned voice.

"It's Kaa-san at the moment dear," Minato replied, "What is it?"

"Are you _sure_ you aren't trying to impress anyone?" Rin asked, eyeing Minato's state of dress. "Surely a simple festival doesn't require …" Rin gestured to Minato's Kimono helplessly; she just couldn't find the words needed to express herself.

"I suppose not Rin-chan, but you have to remember that today is my birthday, if I want to get all dolled up I can." Minato reminded her female student gently, "Besides… There is someone I hope to meet again… that I miss so badly that…" Minato shook her head.

"Let's just go, ne Kaa-san?" Kakashi asked, wanting to get away from the awkwardness of the situation, he couldn't wait to see the festival!

"Yes 'Kashi." Minato agreed, taking the boy's hand. "We don't have time to waste after all!" She then ushered them out of the house.

As they walked, Minato caught a lot of attention, and not the kind she wanted. "Pervs…" she muttered, feeling all the eyes on her back as she signed her team out for the afternoon.

"Where ya off to?" asked one of the guards. "Are you sure that you should go out with just these three for protection?"

Minato rolled her eyes, "You know that by asking you are insulting not only their teacher but my own ability as a Kunoichi right?" she asked, "You have nothing to worry about, these three are the best and I _can_ take care of myself you know…"

The guard nodded. "Just making sure, I noticed all the eyes following you."

"Am I not allowed to dress up on my birthday?" Minato asked sarcastically.

"Just a warning to be careful, that's all," was the reply.

"Thank you then." Minato waved to the two guards as she and her team walked off.

It took almost no time at all to get to the village. The festival was going strong when they arrived, and the young ninja couldn't wait to play around on their afternoon off. They were perfectly safe, they had their Sensei and Kaa-san close by to protect them. Minato found a bench to sit on while her (his?) students went and played the games. She sat there, watching them with a happy smile on her face. She turned to look up when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Hello my dear," the stranger greeted her, he was strangely familiar to her, even taller than her male form (if there was any difference, Minato wasn't sure; she'd never measured her female form), this man had short spiky dark silver hair and blood red eyes. He looked like the man from her dreams…

"Hello sir, how can I help you?" Minato asked in kind, "I happen to be here with my kids for the day."

He chuckled, leaning against the backrest of the bench next to where she was sitting. "I can see that, but what are you doing out with just them for protection my dear?" he asked curiously, after all his Hime had never gone anywhere with only two guards, their son didn't count. Kyuubi gave her a dashing smile, "Would you like some company?"

"I would not mind it." Minato told him, she was surprised when he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "What are you doing?"

"I have waited a millennia for you, My Hime, we will not have to wait much longer My Love…" Kyuubi whispered in her ear. "You should have more than two guards to watch over yourself and our baby…"

"Minato breathed in deeply, surprised when his scent matched the one on the Cloak that he (she?) received when she (he?) was sixteen. Minato reached up and held his (her?) head with one hand, groaned in slight pain, Minato had been questioning his gender identity since he'd started having those weird dreams/memories when he was fifteen. With each new year and new memory Minato just became more and more confused.

"Are you alright My Love?" Kyuubi asked when he noticed his young mate was holding his head. "Are you in pain?"

"It's only a mild headache, Kyuubi-sama," Minato breathed, I've been remembering for almost three years now and… I'm just so confused…" Minato winced at the powerful headache right between his eyes.

"I'm not sure I believe you love." Kyuubi replied cocking his head to the side before kissing his mate's temple, "Are you sure it isn't something worse than a headache?"

"I don't know," Minato murmured, leaning her head back against his shoulder. "I'm so confused, am I male or female?" Minato sighed as she tried to get her headache to go away.

Kyuubi chuckled, it didn't make much difference with his Hime being a Submissive Male demon now, "That's easy. You were once female but now you are male, with a special gift."

"Gift?" Minato asked, blinking tiredly up at Kyuubi.

Kyuubi nodded. "A wonderful gift that will make us both so happy… do you remember the names we discussed?"

"No," Minato answered quietly, "I haven't remembered that yet… I wish I did…"

"Don't worry about it." Kyuubi reassured her, "But I was serious earlier, what are you doing out here with just two in-training kits to defend you and our baby?"

Minato snorted quietly, "Obito and Rin are the best at what they do, as is Kakashi." Minato chuckled, amused, "And you have to remember that I may still be your mate Kyuubi-sama, but I am no longer the defenseless princess that can't fight her own battles anymore."

"I know; I've been watching remember?" Kyuubi reminded him with a smirk, "Where do you think the cloak came from? But that doesn't stop me from worrying you know."

"I know, and I love you for it…" Minato whispered. This was the person she (_he_) had been waiting so long for… "When will you be around Konoha? I am no longer a child after all…"

"Not for a while I'm afraid, even if you are my mate, we still have to follow tradition and that means that I get to court you again." Kyuubi gave her a cheeky grin. "How about we get started huh? I'll take you and the kits out for lunch and then spend the rest of the day with you."

Minato giggled happily, "Sure, why no, just don't be surprised by what the other two call me ok?" She gave him a playful smirk.

If you say so My Hime," Kyuubi agreed with a chuckle. He pulled away from her and walked around the bench. Minato was watching him curiously, taking the hand when it was offered. "What is you name now, then my dear?" Kyuubi asked as he pulled Minato out of her seat.

"Minato," Minato breathed with a blush, "Namikaze Minato."

"Minato…" Kyuubi repeated slowly, tasting his mate's new name. "I like, it suites you, just as much as your first name did." He gave Minato a grin.

Not far away they heard a commotion. Glancing over, Minato and Kyuubi noticed that there was a girl on the ground with two boys protecting her. Minato blinked recognizing them a second later. "Oh no, Rin!" He (she?) breathed as she (he?) took a step forward, hoping that she wasn't hurt. Minato walked over to where the older boys who were standing over her (his?) students. She ignored the local village boys for the moment, communicating with her body language only that she was a _very_ skilled Kunoichi and that she wasn't afraid to use her abilities. "What is going on here?" she asked; eyes on her students.

"We only wanted to ask the girl on a date is all…" said one of the village boys in a snobby voice.

"I wasn't asking _you_." Minato growled quietly, scaring the crowd and the boys. "Well Kakashi? What happened?"

"They did ask Rin on a date that's true Kaa-san…" Kakashi almost stammered, glad that Minato wasn't angry with them that was never good. Minato was projecting a really protective aura towards them, to sooth her students and scare away any attackers, "But she said no which they didn't take very well. She wasn't expecting them to attack her, which is how they got her on the ground…"

"Is that right…?" Minato asked dangerously.

Kakashi and Obito nodded, but it was Obito who answered. "That's what happened Kaa-san."

"If they hadn't caught me by surprise they _never_ would have gotten me on the ground and you know it." Rin stated bitterly as Minato helped her up. "You trained us better than that Kaa-san, remember?"

Minato chuckled as she turned to the boys, the smirk she wore was deadly, her eyes cold. "_If_ you _ever_ touch my kids _again_, then I'm sending you to the Hokage!" she growled, snarling. "_Now get out of my sight_!"

The previously frozen boys ran away, as if the hounds of hell were nipping at their ankles, ensuring that they would never bother another Kunoichi. Minato snorted. "They'll be back, they always are…"

"You know their type Kaa-san?" Kakashi asked, confused.

"Unfortunately 'Kashi…" Minato sighed, "They tend to forget that some girls are Kunoichi and are very good at defending themselves. They'll forget that Kunoichi around their age like Rin will most likely have a Sensei nearby if things get hairy."

"Idiot," Obito muttered, "Why do they do it?"

"They are indeed idiots," came a voice from nearby.

Team Minato turned to see that a silver haired red-eyed stranger had come up and wrapped his arms around their Kaa-san, and Minato wasn't even protesting, she seemed to be leaning into him, completely at ease. "They do it because they can, and because there usually aren't Kunoichi around here and the girls they usually prey on are weak damsels in distress who will bow to their every whim." He looked down at Minato, "Now my dear, I seem to remember promising to treat you and your kits to lunch. The offer is still available if you so wish."

"I would like nothing more, Kyuubi-sama." Minato breathed, smiling up at the man. "Kids, this is Kyuubi, he has offered to take us to lunch. I hope you don't mind that I have accepted for you?"

"Not at all Kaa-san."

The next few hours flew by in a blur, during lunch, Kyuubi learned quite a bit about his mate's new life and _why _all three kits called her Kaa-san. He ended up sharing a few stories of Kaiko which Minato only half remembered, much to his pleasant surprise, like the first time Serenity had tried to bake a cake all by herself ("I remember that now!" Minato giggled, "V-chan and I found her completely covered in flour and it took several _hours_ to get it all out of her hair!").

Minato shared a few stories from his new life as well. ("When Kakashi was three, he asked me to help him bake some cookies for his father who was supposed to be returning to the village either later than evening or early the next morning. Everything went well until I tried to put the cookies on the baking sheet, somehow, and _no_ I don't know how but," Giggle "Somehow, all the batter ended up in Kakashi's hair!")

After lunch Kyuubi stuck around and, upon learning that the day was Minato's birthday, promptly won her a huge silver plush nine-tailed fox ("So that you will remember that I am always with you, even when you are alone.") And then when things were winding down and Minato had already sealed all their prizes into a scroll which was then sealed into a seal on her wrist, Kyuubi pulled her out of the village, not noticing Minato's kids following.

Once they were far enough away, Kyuubi's form shifted, silver fox ears spouted in his hair and one of his nine majestic silvery tails appeared. He then knelt, pulling a small box from one of his pockets. Minato gasped quietly, wondering what he was doing.

"My Hime," Kyuubi looked up at Minato as he opened the tiny box, revealing a ring that Minato only half remembered. "Will you be mine again?"

Minato's team was struck dumb by the proposal. Kakashi would have fallen out of the tree he and his teammates were hiding in if Obito and Rin hadn't grabbed him. 'Thanks.' He signed, not wanting to speak and alert the two on the ground to their presence.

"…I…" Minato looked into Kyuubi's crimson eyes, looking for… something. "…Are you sure…?"

Kyuubi nodded, "There is nothing that I would want more."

"…What if…. Someone likes me and…" Minato struggled to find the words to explain the complicated relationship (if it could be called that) that he had with Kushina.

Kyuubi grinned. "It's not done often, but there _have_ Triads [5] before, is that what you were asking about?"

"Uh, something like that…" Minato agreed. "You see, there's this girl, Kushina, who has been flirting with me since I saved her from some Kumo ninja. And a mutual friend of ours, Miki-chan thinks that Kushina has fallen in love with me…"

"Ah… Is she the cute Redhead that makes any excuse to spend time with you?" Kyuubi teased.

Minato blushed, "Yeah…" Minato looked away. "Do you think it would work? I'm already in love with you, but… I think I'm falling for her as well."

"I have no problem with you pursuing her, My Hime, but you and I are demons and she is a human. You will have to mark her as I marked you so that we can find her again." Kyuubi told his mate.

Minato nodded, "Then since this doesn't mean I'm giving up on anything that develops between her and I… Yes, I will be yours again." Minato held her hand out and watched as Kyuubi pulled the ring from the box and slid it onto Minato's left ring finger.

"Shall I escort you home then?" Kyuubi asked with a dashing smile.

Minato blushed. "Yes please." She turned to the tree. "You three can stop hiding and come down now!"

The three young ninja fell out of the tree, causing Minato to chuckle. She walked over and leaned over them. "Ready to go home?" She asked, grinning impishly down at them, holding out her hands to help them up.

"Yes Kaa-san." Kakashi muttered, taking a hand and pulling himself up. "Let's go home, I'm tired, I don't know about these two though…"

Minato laughed as Obito and Rin grabbed her hands next and allowed her to pull them up. "Ok, let's go home."

Minato and her team walked slightly ahead of Kyuubi, allowing the tall demon to observe his mate with her kits. Kakashi latched onto her right hand and walked next to her while Obito and Rin walked in front of them. Kyuubi studied Kakashi from behind. Except for his eyes, the nine-year-old looked like what he thought his kit would look like; the chakra was the same also… This had to be his kit, he even had the same name that he and his Hime had decided on, Kakashi, their scarecrow, their Guiding Light, their Little Guardian…

All of a sudden, Kakashi let go of Minato's hand and ran ahead Rin and Obito quickly followed him, laughing. Minato hurried after them more slowly because of her kimono. Kyuubi went ahead of her to see what was up.

"Sugei na…" Kakashi breathed at the sight of the sun setting behind the village, not even feeling it when his teammates stopped behind him to stare at the sight.

"Kirie…" Rin breathed in complete agreement.

"Kanari…" [6] Obito agreed, awestruck, on this day, they had never returned at sunset.

The sun was setting behind the Hokage Monument, casting rays of reds oranges and purples over the village; it was truly a lovely sight to behold. The oranges and reds highlighted the monument while the purple was cast over the village itself.

Minato smiled as she (he?) and Kyuubi came up behind his (her?) students. "This is the only day of the year that the sun sets directly behind the monument like this, I was lucky to be born today…"

"Utsukushī…" Kyuubi breathed, "Not as beautiful as watching the Earth set behind the Moon Palace on the shores of the Sea of Tranquility with the sun behind the Earth… but this does have a certain appeal…"

Minato laughed, shaking her head. "I think this view is better."

(End One-shot)

This is a companion to Kyuubi's Mate, as such it is still dark, but I have tried to make this a bit more lighthearted. This Kyuubi is nice, unlike the one in Kyuubi's Mate. There is a bit of a spoiler in here, for later chapters of 'The Other Moon Princess'.

Kyuubi is awesome isn't he? I love this Kyuubi…

By this time, Minato has remembered almost everything to do with his past life, which is what the conversation at the end is about. Minato knows what Kyuubi is saying and even remembers how lovely that view was, but he likes the view of Konoha better. I hope I was able to adequately express the confusion Minato is going through… it is a rather confusing situation and I'd hate to be in Minato's shoes. You'll notice that even though Kyuubi never introduces himself Minato knew his name? that has to do with the memories that he's trying to deal with.

Kyuubi mentioning a child and connection that to Kakashi is actually a spoiler for the fic enjoy, and no, you aren't getting an explanation if you are confused, you have to wait for the fic to catch up to this.

Footnotes:

[1] This is the origin of the Yaminaka clan in Konoha.

[2] Kakashi called Minato Kaa-san because that is the feeling he gets around him, and since his real mother died before he could know her, there is no one else for him to latch onto as a mother figure anyway, except maybe Kushina, but Minato is really awkward around her, unlike in KM where Minato was deeply in love with her until she died.

[3] This is a bit of a show of how different Kakashi is from canon at this age, he is nine, and had known Obito (in this fic anyway) since just after his father died. Obito has been his friend since and Kakashi's always seen the older boy as rather silly. Kakashi doesn't mind Obito at all, he'd kill for him, and break the rules.

[4] Their names mean Smoke and Fire according to Google Translate. I needed names for Hiashi and Hizashi's girlfriends, so I went with a theme, Hanabi (Hiashi's second daughter's name) means fireworks and fireworks create a lot of smoke and sparks (fire).

[5] This is what demons call a threesome that works, Kyuubi is asking if Minato wants to bring a third party into the relationship that the two already have. This is actually something that I have been thinking about, not really sure how it would work yet though…

[6] According to Google Translate, this also means pretty.

I hope that I've been able to show that Minato is feeling conflicted well enough… PM me if you've got questions. Remember to review. By the way… HAPPY BIRTHDAY MINATO!

Neph


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